“Right, because nothing can ever be simple or straightforward,” I said.
“Madeline,” Daharan said. “You need to stop thinking that the universe is tossing obstacles in your way for its own amusement. You are just a tiny thing in the grand scheme.”
“Well, nothing like having your uncle put you in your place and remind you how insignificant you are,” I muttered.
“You have a part to play,” he said calmly. “And it is an important one. But the gears of the galaxy are many, and they grind exceedingly small.”
“Does that mean I can take a break from saving the world, then?” I said.
“No, you may not,” Daharan said. “Unless you are willing to let the innocent die.”
“You know that I’m not going to let that happen.”
“Then this conversation is pointless,” Daharan said. He didn’t sound irritated, but there was a finality in the way he spoke that told me the subject was closed.
I was annoyed and I didn’t really know why. I’d resisted taking on this role. I didn’t want to be a hero, but I felt it had been thrust upon me over and over. I’d repeatedly said I just wanted an ordinary life, but that life had been sacrificed at the altar of the greater good. And because of that I’d gotten a little arrogant, I guess. I’d thought that I was important, that the world couldn’t do without me.
Now Daharan was telling me that I was just a little piece of a grand jigsaw. A very little piece. And that made me wonder whether all the sacrifice was worth it.
I sank into my own thoughts, brooding. I didn’t really pay attention to where we were going or how long it took. I just kept close to Daharan, who seemed to know what he was doing. So I was surprised when we suddenly started to descend.
I was equally surprised when I saw that the landscape had changed significantly. The parched desert was gone, replaced by lush and rolling hills dotted with trees and flowers. But I didn’t sense the presence of the portal.
“The portal isn’t here,” I said. “Why are we going down?”
“Do you not need to rest?” Daharan asked, but he avoided my eyes as he said it.
Daharan had been extremely straightforward in my dealings with him thus far. I had to wonder why he was keeping his gaze from mine. And if I should be worried that this was the double-cross I’d been half expecting ever since Daharan had agreed to help me.
“What’s down there?” I demanded, stopping in the sky.
Daharan paused, turned to face me. His eyes were sad, the fire in them banked. “Not what. Who.”
There could be only one person he meant.
“Is he here?” I said, my heart leaping with a joy that I hadn’t felt since the day I’d lost him.
Daharan nodded. “You have a short time. I will return for you.”
My whole being flooded with anticipation. I dropped to the ground as rapidly as I could, turning in a circle, looking for the one face that I’d been searching for ever since he’d been taken from me.
And he was there, coming to his feet beneath a tree, his expression a mixture of astonishment and wonder.
“Gabriel,” I breathed.
I ran to him, ran like I’d never run before, tears blinding me. I leapt into his arms and kissed him like I would never kiss him again. Because I wouldn’t. I knew that this was the last time, the last chance. And Daharan had given it to me.
“Madeline,” he said, over and over, his hands on my face, in my hair, like he couldn’t believe I was real.
Inside my belly, my son fluttered his happiness. He knew his father was near.
Gabriel sank to his knees, pushed my shirt up so my stomach was revealed. He put his hand there, and his head next to it, turning his ear to my skin.
A pulse of magic passed through his fingers and shot through me, into the place where our son was cradled. Incredibly, the baby gave a tiny little pulse back, his magic meeting Gabriel’s.
I looked at Gabriel in wonder and amazement, through eyes blurred by tears, and saw that he had the same expression on his face.
“How can he be so strong already?” I whispered.
“He is growing quickly,” Gabriel said. “You will show soon.”
He stood then, and gave me an assessing look. “You are not eating enough. You look pale. And thin.”
“Really?” I said, shaking my head at him. “We’re reunited after death, and you’re worried about how much I’m eating?”
He gave me a brief smile, his dark eyes dancing. “I’m sure I can think of something else to do, if you only have the time.”
“We have time for that,” I said, reaching for him, but he drew back. I stopped, confused. “What’s the problem?”
“Madeline, I do adore you, but . . . perhaps a bath is in order first?”
I looked down at my clothes, which were covered in dirt and sand and Cimice blood. My boots were coated in some unidentifiable goop. My hair felt greasy, and I probably smelled bad. But . . .
“Okay, you have a point,” I said. “But it’s not exactly tactful to point it out.”
“I would like to make love to my wife when she is not covered in bug organs,” Gabriel said, taking my hand and leading me to the sparkling lake.
“You’re so romantic. How can I resist?” I said.
The lake was so blue and perfect it didn’t seem real. The whole place seemed like a faerie illusion, something out of a dream. I put my sword on the ground and sat to pull off my boots. Even my socks were disgusting.
“The problem is,” I said as I undressed, “that once I’m clean, I’m going to have to put these yucky things back on again.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No, you will not. This place has a way of providing what is needed.”
I paused, still in my bra and underpants. “Why is it so different here, compared to the way it is where Evangeline was? And why are you the only one around?”
He looked thoughtful. “I think it is because we see what we expect to see.”
“So if you think you’re going to sit on white fluffy clouds and all your loved ones are going to be there, that’s what will happen?” I asked.
“I do not have all the answers,” Gabriel said. “I have never seen another soul in all my time spent here.”
“Isn’t that lonely?” I asked.
“Not right now,” he said, and his eyes were full of heat. “Madeline. Take the rest off.”
I felt suddenly shy with him looking at me like that. He was still clothed, and I was just about bare-assed naked with the sun shining down on me. But there was also longing, and need, and so my underthings fell to the ground. I stood before him, and he just looked. Heat spread over me, soft and languid.
“Gabriel,” I said, and it came out breathless.
He reached for me, took my hand, and led me to the lake. The water was warm as it lapped against my bare feet. I stepped in up to my ankles, and turned to him.
“You’re still wearing your clothes,” I said.
“I know,” he said, his hands going to the top button of his shirt. Even here, in the afterlife, he dressed like a young professional in a button-down and slacks. “Let me wash your hair.”
Just like that, there was shampoo and soap and soft towels on the bank of the lake. I waded in deeper, folding my wings against my back, ducking under the water, letting it run over my body. My shyness was diminishing rapidly. I felt so free and easy, naked in the water, with no one near to stumble upon us.
